BACKGROUND Microvascular decompression (MVD) is the surgical treatment of choice for hemifacial spasm (HFS). During MVD, monitoring of the abnormal lateral spread response (LSR), an evoked response to facial nerve stimulation, has been traditionally used to monitor adequacy of cranial nerve (CN) VII decompression. OBJECTIVE To assess the utility of LSR monitoring in predicting spasm-free status after MVD postoperatively. METHODS We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase for relevant publications. We included studies reporting on intraoperative LSR monitoring during MVD for HFS and spasm-free status following the procedure. Sensitivity of LSR, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, and positive predictive value were calculated. RESULTS From 148 studies, 26 studies with 7479 patients were ultimately included in this meta-analysis. The final intraoperative LSR status predicted the clinical outcome of MVD with the following specificities and sensitivities 89% (0.83- 0.93) and 40% (0.30- 0.51) at discharge, 90% (0.84-0.94) and 41% (0.29-0.53) at 3 mo, 89% (0.83-0.93) and 40% (0.30-0.51) at 1 yr. When LSR persisted after MVD, the probability (95% CI) for HFS persistence was 47.8% (0.33-0.63) at discharge, 40.8% (0.23-0.61) at 3 mo, and 24.4% (0.13-0.41) at 1 yr. However, when LSR resolved, the probability for HFS persistence was 7.3% at discharge, 4.2% at 3 mo, and 4.0% at 1 yr. CONCLUSION Intraoperative LSR monitoring has high specificity but modest sensitivity in predicting the spasm-free status following MVD. Persistence of LSR carries high risk for immediate and long-term facial spasm persistence. Therefore, adequacy of decompression should be thoroughly investigated before closing in cases where intraoperative LSR persists. Copyright © 2020 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.Short association fibers (U-fibers) connect proximal cortical areas and constitute the majority of white matter connections in the human brain. U-fibers play an important role in brain development, function, and pathology but are underrepresented in current descriptions of the human brain connectome, primarily due to methodological challenges in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) of these fibers. High spatial resolution and dedicated fiber and tractography models are required to reliably map the U-fibers. Moreover, limited quantitative knowledge of their geometry and distribution makes validation of U-fiber tractography challenging. Submillimeter resolution diffusion MRI-facilitated by a cutting-edge MRI scanner with 300 mT/m maximum gradient amplitude-was used to map U-fiber connectivity between primary and secondary visual cortical areas (V1 and V2, respectively) in vivo. V1 and V2 retinotopic maps were obtained using functional MRI at 7T. The mapped V1-V2 connectivity was retinotopically organized, demonstrating higher connectivity for retinotopically corresponding areas in V1 and V2 as expected. The results were highly reproducible, as demonstrated by repeated measurements in the same participants and by an independent replication group study. This study demonstrates a robust U-fiber connectivity mapping in vivo and is an important step toward construction of a more complete human brain connectome. © The Author(s) 2020. https://www.selleckchem.com/ Published by Oxford University Press.With the intent of achieving greater spatiotemporal control of PROTAC-induced protein degradation, a light-activated degrader was designed by photocaging an essential E3 ligase binding motif in a BRD4 targeting PROTAC. Proteolysis was triggered only after a short irradiation time, the kinetics of which could be monitored by live-cell video microscopy.Iron centered N-heterocyclic carbene (Fe-NHC) complexes have shown long-lived excited states with charge transfer character useful for light harvesting applications. Understanding the nature of the metal-ligand bond is of fundamental importance to rationally tailor the properties of transition metal complexes. The high-energy-resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption near edge structure (HERFD-XANES) has been used to probe the valence orbitals of three carbene complexes, [FeII(bpy)(btz)2](PF6)2 (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, btz = 3,3'-dimethyl-1,1'-bis(p-tolyl)-4,4'-bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene)), [FeIII(btz)3](PF6)3, and [FeIII(phtmeimb)2]PF6 (phtmeimb = [phenyl(tris(3-methylimidazol-2-ylidene))borate]-). The multiconfigurational restrict active space (RAS) approach has been used to simulate the metal K pre-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy of these carbene complexes, and have reproduced the metal K pre-edge spectral features in terms of relative intensity and peak positions. The evident intensity difference between the FeII and the other two FeIII complexes has been elucidated with different intensity mechanisms in the transition. The smaller splitting between the t2g and eg character peak for [FeIII(btz)3](PF6)3 has been observed in the experimental measurements and been reproduced in the RAS calculations. The results show how the combination of experimental HERFD-XANES measurements and ab initio RAS simulations can give quantitative evaluation of the orbital interactions between metal and ligands for such large and strongly interacting systems and thus allow to understand and predict properties of novel complexes.As an important gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide having multiple biological roles cannot be easily probed in cells. In this study, a light controllable H2S donor, Nap-Sul-ONB, derived from naphthalimide was developed. Under the irradiation of 365 nm light, a readily controlled stimulus, the donor could release COS to form H2S and exhibit turn on fluorescence to indicate the release of payload and its cellular location. Besides, the ROS scavenging ability and cell protective effect of Nap-Sul-ONB against endogenous and exogenous ROS were studied. The results showed that upon 365 nm light irradiation, Nap-Sul-ONB could reduce the cellular ROS level and increase the survival rate of PMA-treated cells.A water-soluble photosensitizer, PQs-PEG5, based on a novel pyrazino[2,3-g]quinoxaline (PQ) prototype compound (PQs-5), was designed and synthesized. It has strong linear absorption within 400-600 nm and a desirable two-photon absorption cross section (100-1290 GM) within 740-1000 nm, and it exhibits both a high fluorescence quantum yield (?0.55) and singlet oxygen quantum yield (?0.47). By carrying out in vitro cell imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT) experiments on PQs-PEG5 with HeLa and 4T1 cells, it was demonstrated that PQs-PEG5 can present outstanding bioimaging performance and PDT efficacies simultaneously. Under one-photon excitation (1PE) of a 635 nm diode laser (60 mW cm-2, 5 min) or two-photon excitation (2PE) of an 820 nm fs laser (100 mW, 80 MHz, 140 fs, 5 min), PQs-PEG5 (10 μM) could cause HeLa and 4T1 cell death effectively, which indicated its great potential as a novel photosensitizer for both 1PE- and 2PE-PDT applications.